It’s a small step in what seems to be a huge problem in Hollywood, but it’s still a start. California governor Jerry Brown has signed a law that “will force subscription websites used by casting services and entertainment employers to remove age information in online profiles if asked,” reports CNN.
Meryl Streep stole the show as Miranda Preistley in Devil Wears Prada. Very rarely does such a role come along for older actresses
in Hollywood.
A new law passed in California provides actors hope.
It’s a small step in what seems to be a huge problem in Hollywood, but it’s still a start. California governor Jerry Brown has signed a law that “will force subscription websites used by casting services and entertainment employers to remove age information in online profiles if asked,” reports CNN.
Of course, this might not be such a big deal, since birth dates of famous stars are already well known to fans and the media, but this might help the new crop of actors entering the industry.
There have been many instances where famous stars have spoken up regarding how their age affects their career. For example, actress Huong Hoang made headlines nearly five years ago when she filed a lawsuit against IMDB, claiming that the site’s decision to publish her birth date was negatively affecting her career. However, IMDB won the lawsuit as the lawyers claimed that the company had not “breached any legal obligations to the 42-year-old actress,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Other famous actresses have also expressed outrage over this phenomenon, with actress Helen Mirren joining the bandwagon. Last year, she addressed Hollywood’s double standards when she said the following: “We all watched James Bond as he got more and more geriatric, and his girlfriends got younger and younger. It’s so annoying.”
Hollywood’s darling Meryl Streep has also revealed that the the year she turned 40, ‘she was offered multiple wrinkly, old witch roles—since that is how the small minds in Hollywood saw her.’ In response to this, Streep has funded for women over 40, in the hope that ‘more women behind the camera will create more opportunities for women in front of the camera, especially for those over a certain age,’ according to the Vanity Fair.
Female actresses have struggled over the years in maintaining their careers once they enter their forties. A study published by Irene E. De Pater, Timothy A. Judge, and Brent A. Scott in the Journal of Management Inquiry titled “Age, Gender, and Compensation: A Study of Hollywood Movie Stars,” sheds light on how actresses receive lesser screen time once they turn 34.
With additional information from Vanity Fair.
